Wednesday, January 02, 2019

UK Trade (pre-Brexit)


In 2019 the UK is set to leave the European Union. Currently the EU is the UK's largest trading partner. If no new trade deal is negotiated between the EU and the UK then trade could still take place under World Trade Organisation rules. This would result in the UK having to pay tariffs on a range of goods which are currently trade-free.

You can find out the size of the UK's trade with the EU and non-EU countries using tools developed by the Office of National Statistics. These tools show the size of UK trade with different countries around the world and also breakdown where different commodities are traded around the world. The Explore UK Trade in Goods interactive map shows the size of UK trade with 234 countries across the globe in 125 different commodities.

Using the map you can select individual countries around the world to view the size of the UK's import and export trade with that country. Choose a country and you can view the size in sterling of the UK's import and export trade with the selected country. You can also view the top 5 imported and exported goods and the rise and fall in the trade of those commodities over the last five years.

Beneath the ONS's interactive map is an interactive tool which allows you to explore the UK's trade in specific commodities. Select a commodity from the drop-down menu and you can view the percentage of that commodity which is currently traded with the EU and the percentage which is traded with non-EU countries. This interactive also lists the top 5 trading partners for each chosen commodity.

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